LANGHORNE, Pa. (KYW Newsradio) — Senior citizens in Lower Bucks County will now have access to specialized services and resources focused on their health and safety.
The new St. Mary Family Caregiver Center was established through a partnership between St. Mary Medical Center in Langhorne and Catholic Housing and Community Services of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.
It will offer seniors and their caregivers access to a variety of resources, enabling them to maintain their independence and age-in-place in a home setting.
Lisa Kelly, St. Mary director of community health and volunteers, said the archdiocese will provide two social workers to staff the center. St. Mary will fund the program.
“They help connect those seniors and their caregivers to aging-in-place resources, of which there are many,” Kelly explained. “And many people don’t even know that they qualify.
“We’ve actually made this available to our patients leaving the hospital, as well as community members. A son or daughter can call in, a spouse can call in if they’re a caregiver of their loved one and say, ‘I’m really trying to see what I qualify for, what assistance is available.’ ”
The center will also connect seniors with transportation aid, programs to help them pay rent or utility bills, and discounted or free medication programs.
“The whole goal of the partnership is to keep seniors in their homes safely for as long as possible and to reduce how much time they spend in the hospital,” said Heather Huot, director of Catholic Housing and Community Services. “We don’t have a time limit. We don’t have an insurance company telling us ‘you only get four visits.’
“We can walk with the family for as long as they need us. And that can be a year, it can be a year and a half. It can be whatever is needed.”